Hammer.



PATENTED APR. 12, 1904.

J. A. THOMAS. HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

gixgm UNTTnn @TATES Patented April 12, 1904.

JOHN A. THOMAS, OF MILLVILLE, FLORIDA.

HAMMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,071, dated April12, 1904:.

Application filed July 15, 1903.

f0 all whom it. may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN A. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Millville, in the county of Washington and State of Florida,have invented a new and useful Hammer; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in hammers, and has for its objectto improve the construction of that class of hammers which are providedwith an extensible fulcrum-bar or plunger adapted to cooperate with theclaw of the hammer for enabling long nails to be extracted with ease andwithout bending them, whereby the extracted nails may be readily usedover again.

A further object of the invention is to increase the strength anddurability of the hammer and to facilitate the replacement of a brokenhandle by a new one by arranging the extensible fulcrum-bar or plungerindependently of the handle and the eye of the hammer and by mountingthe said fulcrumed bar or plunger entirely within the hammer-head.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and novel arrangement of parts hereinafter shown,described, and claimed.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, and in which likenumerals of reference designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is aperspective view of a hammer constructed in accordance with thisinvention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3is a similar view on. the line 8 3 'of Fig. 2. Fig. 4, is a detailsectional view on the line 4: 1 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a hammer-head provided with aclaw 2 and having an elongated eye 3, adapted to receive a handle 4 ofthe ordinary construction. The

hammer-head is provided at one side of the eye, at a point between thesame and the claw, with a longitudinal opening 5, extendingsubstantially the entire length of the eye and receiving an extensiblefulcrum-bar or plunger 6. The opening 5 is enlarged at its upper endSerial No. 165,548- (No model.)

7 to receive the head 8 of the fulcrum-bar, which is extensible andwhich is adapted to project beyond the hammer-head to form a fulcrum,whereby long nails may be readily extracted without bending them,thereby enabling such extracted nails to be used over again. The plungeror fulcrum bar, which is rectangular in cross-section, is automaticallymoved outward by a coiled spring 9, located in the inner portion of theopening 5 and interposed between the inner end wall of the same and theinner end of the fulcrum-bar or plunger, whereby the coiled spring willbe compressed when thediulcrum-bar is forced inward. The fulcrum-bar isprovided atone side with a series of notches 10, adapted to be engagedby a transverselydisposed spring-actuated dog 11, mounted in a slot orrecess 12 and pivoted between its end by a pin 13 or other suitablefastening device. The dog is provided at its engaging end with aprojecting portion or tooth for engaging the notches, and a spring 14:18adapted to throw the other end of the dog outward. The outwardlyprojecting end which extends from one side of the hammerhead is locatedcontiguous to a lug 15, which forms a guard and which is adapted toprevent the dog from being accidentally operated by coming in contactwith the supporting-surface or other objects when the hammer is laiddown. When the dog is depressed and its tooth carried out of engagementwith the fulcrum-bar or plunger, the latter is forced outward by thespring and may be locked at any adjustment by the dog, which whenreleased reengages the fulcrum-bar or plunger. The outward movement ofthe fulcrum-bar or plunger is limited by a stop 16, consisting of afastening device mounted on and extending through one side of thehammer-head and projecting into a longitudinal groove 17 in one side ofthe fulcrum-bar or plunger. By this construction the fulcrum-bar isprevented from entirely leaving the hammer-head when the dog isdepressed.

It will be seen that the fulcrum-bar or plunger and the means foroperating the same are located entirely within the hammer-head andbeyond the eye of the same, and that the eye is adapted to receive theordinary handle,

which is not weakened by the mounting of the fulcrum-bar or plunger onthe hammer. It will also be apparent that the fulcrum-bar or plungerwill not interfere with the removal of the broken handle or with thesubstitution of a new handle for a broken one.

What I claim is- In a device of the class described, the combination ofa hammer-head provided at one side of its eye with an opening, saidhammerhead being also provided at one side with a slot or recess andhaving a projection at one end thereof, forming a guard, a spring-actu-'ated fulcrum-bar or plunger, located within my signature in thepresence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. THOMAS Witnesses:

O. R. HARDING, JOEL FRATER.

